1979 Gymnastics World Champs, women's EF

[@SandyKH]

Thanks for a great competition. One of the best for technical quality considering the time period. A must see, for people that want to understand how much gymnastics has changed over the years.

[@kras118]

I can watch Nellie leap for days

[@lilgiggler35]

I think that this is during the time period when Yelena Mukhina was dealing with injuries and the stupidity of her coach and the Soviet Gymnastics officials. They wouldn't allow her injured leg to heal before forcing her back into training then she had to have surgery to correct the damage done from the improper healing. They then forced her back into training again before it fully healed, this time also forcing her to diet to remove the extra weight she had gained while trying to heal. The following year was when she had her tragic accident.

[@audrechan9313]

lilgiggler35 I think her broken leg was the first indication that something was going on with her training. I wonder why any other trainer didn't notice what Klimenko was doing to her. Nellie Kim had a long and successful career I wish Elena would have had one too.

[@rg1whiteywins598]

And you think someone would learn something from that.

[@parafan22]

Its nice to see you back posting amazing videos!!! Thank you!

[@Tribute2the80s]

The commentators were just so fascinated with their bodies/thinness.

[@olimpsportas2]

thank you for this video!

[@ВладиславХван-х8м]

Нелли Ким Абсолютная чемпионка Мира 1979 года !!! Супер !!!

[@carolynrabbani6469]

No amount of blush can hide that the Romanian gymnasts are near starvation...the other gymnasts look slim, but they look emaciated!

[@Zamolxes77]

When you don't have a big caboose, you jump higher and are more precise. Also, they're 14, not 22, barely hitting puberty.

[@Cleow33]

I met Emilia Eberle the year after this and she was skeletal. Not just slim but really sick looking. I read later that she was the scapegoat for the Romanian team, bullied terribly by the coaches. Poor kid never looked happy. The Romanians and Russians were amazing gymnasts, but at what cost?

[@dinarivas626]

Awesome video.

[@ancamg]

Back in the days when gymnastics looked good. But what's that 9.95 for Nelli Kim floor when she did a few steps off her first round? Melita Ruhn was clearly robbed. Stupid judging never fails.

[@rg1whiteywins598]

What happened to this beautiful choreography? Seems now it has become slop. Only to fill in between tumbling runs.

[@ВладиславХван-р1в]

Нелли Ким абсолютная чемпионка 1979 года !!!

[@michaelangel7712]

Melita Ruhn 9.90 on floor and Nellie Kim 9.95 with those steps on the first double back ???? Are you kidding me??Meita robbed

[@garyj79]

except the typically cheesy dance , typical of the Romanians of that period ...... good job Bela/Marta

[@utoob9999]

+Michael Angel - agreed! MR should have received 9.95, and EE routine was very entertaining and even more solid.

[@SandyKH]

+Michael Angel Melita Ruhn stepped out of bounds on her first tumbling run, that's an automatic .10 deduction. She would have had a perfect 10 without that. It was therefore a fair score.

[@SandyKH]

+Michael Angel Sorry, I was mistaken. Melita did a great job, though Romania had a tendency to make all their routines look cutsey and similar at the time. She really did well, and out performed Nellie Kim, though I enjoy them both.

[@michaelangel7712]

You all say about the styles of routines and the dance but i dont see it either in nellies routine, actually the most graceful athlete at the time was Nadia!

[@wyomiatyos9506]

In the cold war not even the sport escaped the legend about Comanechi it was well used how are they going to say that a gymnast that won a single olympiad is considered the best of all the time when I finish Mexico 68 in which they gave him the gold a Vera by Natalia for the soviet invasion in czchoslovakia the gymnastic disappereared, but Korbut arrived when she arrived gymnastics existed but was sleep, but she woke her up

[@Zamolxes77]

Americans ... obsessed by smiling. You smile for everything, even when the situation doesn't demand it, therefore making a smile meaningless. Romanians smile when situation demands it, so a smile stays a smile, not some forced thing.

[@objetivista686]

Nelli Kim choreo has absolutely nothing to do with this music

[@mindrolling24]

It's strange seeing elements at the Olympics that were level 5-6 tests only 4 years later: I can only imagine how different this looks for young gymnasts today! Interesting that Gainer dismounts off the end of the beam are back in fashion. Commentary is terrible- so many errors.